From Bartender to Bride: The Cliché Love Story of a Model and Photographer

Hello and welcome back to make macho with me, the series where I tell stories on how I became an anti workaholic. From a baroque college dropout to running a seven figure business, all while I make my morning cup of matcha. So if I request, this is the story on how I met my husband. So we’ve been married for about three years now. We’ve known each other for around 7 ish years now. And this is the story how we met.

And I truly believe that I wouldn’t be where I am now, like success wise, business wise or even settled down wise, had I not met him. Because I was kind of a free spirit, go with the flow type of person, never really settle down. And they really say like, you don’t do those types of things until you find the person that you want to do them with. And I think that that’s what happened when I met my husband.

So how I met my husband, it’s actually very cliche. Let me explain. So I just moved back from Florida, right? I dropped out of college in Florida. I lived in California for about seven years. And I had just come back like completely, the lab broke, like not a dime to my name. And I had just gotten a job bartending at the Ritz Carlton. I was still in training. So it was like really early on. I had contacted some agencies, modeling agencies in the Miami area, again, back in my heyday. And I’m also very tall, so I connected with some of the agencies down there. And so when I was bartending, I got slid in the DMS. And it was from a photographer and it was from my husband and he’s like, hey, working with XYZ agencies, like you need to update your poll portfolio. Like, let’s take some photos. I was like, okay, cool.

Cuz I had just moved back and I needed to update my portfolio. So let’s do that. And I was bartending at the time, so that’s how I was actually making money. But, and then we set up a time and date to me and take photos and that’s what we did. He wasn’t even local here. He’s from North Carolina and he had just actually come down to South Florida. True. Trying to get into the photography modeling industry. And so that is how we met. And we met and we met for photos. And I had just come off my like work shift and I, I didn’t have like a picture of him. All of his Instagram was just like his work, his modeling work or the photography he did. So I did, I had no idea what he looked like or what I was going into. And I showed up what was like at the beach and I was like, oh, I was like, it’s pretty cute. Like, oh, this is a pleasant surprise because you never know what photographers, right? So it’s like, oh, this is a pleasant surprise. And, you know, I don’t know, I guess the vibe and just the conversation, it was really at ease and we were really comfortable with each other. We were like joking with each other right off the bat. Like, you know, photographers are supposed to give you direction when they’re shooting you. And so he just told me to go. Like, he’s like, okay, stand over there now, model. And I’m like, what? So it was funny. We had like a good banter going on and it just felt natural and organic and really comfortable.

And so we took photos, we did all of that. And obviously we had each other’s information, like we had each other’s social media. So that’s, that was kind of how we stayed in touch and connected. I had to have photos for something else. And so I was like, oh, well, I know a photographer. We had fun together. So I’ll hit him up again and see if he wants to take more photos for me. I don’t have any money to pay him, right? So, cuz the first time I was just like, you know, for exchange and I was like, well, I don’t have any money to pay him. But I was like, oh, I’ll see if he wants me to like treat him to like a cheap beer. And so that’s what happened. I was like, oh, like, oh, if you help me out, like I’ll treat you to a cheap beer. And so I did. And we kind of just hit it off and we got along really well. We had so much fun together. He ended up trying to like he, the place he was staying, the place he’s living at, the lady was like selling her house or moving or whatever. So he didn’t have a place to stay. So he’s like, I’m gonna go back to North Carolina. And I was kind of like, oh no, like, please don’t do that. And we weren’t really official or anything then, but like we were vibing hard and like having a really good time. And so I didn’t want him to leave. So he laughed and I got a place down here in Florida and I was like, come back and stay with me. And so he did.

And, you know, that’s the story and how we met. Totally cliche, right? Like the model and the photographer getting together. Couldn’t be more cliche. Sliding in the DMS. This is the digital age, right? So that is the story. Han Hao, we ended up meeting and then we got married. We actually, we eloped because that’s, I’m not a wedding person at all. Like that is not for me. So we eloped and then about a month later, I was pregnant and we had our baby. And that’s our story. That’s how we met. So yeah, thanks for listening and thanks for coming to my series on how I came to be. I hope you guys like it. I hope you stay tuned for more perfect matcha.